If Things Had Been Different
by Paper Stars In The Sky
Summary: In the end, it's not the little flower girl that Tara chooses to be her Heir - it's the girl that she entrusted with the pod. Flashfic.
1. Differentiate

**BLANKET DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Epic, much as I would like to. D:**

**Hey guys! I just watched Epic today, and although it was amazing, I didn't really like the ending. So here's my version of what could have happened. This will be a flashfic series, which means that I'll be updating little snippets/shots of what's happened after the end of the movie. If there's a sequel, ****_this will be an AU._**

**Enjoy!**

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The gold dust swirled around MK, solidifying into a ghost of Tara. "You know, you're not as unsuited to this world as you think," she said. MK just blinked at the queen. Tara looked up, seemingly pondering. "You show compassion, initiative, and most importantly, courage. You will make a fine queen."

Tara straightened. "Take care of Ronin for me, would you?" The Stomper-turned-little-person numbly nodded. Tara smiled and kissed MK's forehead, then disappeared in a burst of light, which enveloped MK and blinded everyone. When they opened their eyes, MK now had a lotus dress, and therefore a Heir and now queen. All of the little people knelt, Nod the last after an elbow in the ribs from Ronin. Then everyone stood up again, and though most were shaky from seeing their dead queen again, they were all happy. MK didn't know how to respond to this, but luckily Nim Galuu intervened and shouted, "Let's celebrate!"

As everyone headed outside, MK smiled gratefully at the historian, who just winked and followed everyone outside. The new queen, feeling the need for a bit of peace, walked out back, nodding to the Leafmen who took up guard again. She wanted to tell them that they didn't need to, but she was too shocked to - maybe later. Nod noticed and followed her out to the back.

"So," MK said, feet dangling over the edge as Nod sat down next to her. The Leafmen on guard duty were still apprehensive, wary of any passing boggans targeting their new soverign. "I'm a queen of a world that isn't mine."

"Hey, it is yours now; Queen Tara deemed you Heir, so you have to take care of it."

"That is true, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for this. I mean," MK laughed nervously, "I was just a normal girl, and now I'm the queen of a whole civilization. That's a pretty big thing."

Nod considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "At least you have Nim, Ronin, and me. Between the four of us, I think we can manage."

MK smiled at Nod, then sighed. "The thing is," she said, turning to look at Nod, "how am I going to explain this to my dad?"

Nod didn't have an answer for her.

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	2. Motherhenning

**OH MY GOSH I'VE ONLY BEEN GONE FOR A DAY AND I ALREADY HAVE 200+ VIEWS THIS IS INCREDIBLE.**

***cough* Okay, moving on. **

**Yay! Reviews already! Reviews make me happy! Keep reviewing! Maybe if you do I'll post another one tomorrow! (Although I would do it anyway... XD)**

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"No, this is completely ridiculous! I do not need a whole platoon to see my dad!"

Ronin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. His new queen was just as headstrong as Tara was, and it made his heart ache - but he had a job to do.

"Your Majesty, there are boggans still out there. We can't let you out of Moonhaven without Leafmen."

"I think my dad would be protection enough."

"MK, just let Ronin do his job. He's just worrying over you."

The girl smiled. "Like motherhenning? Nevermind," she said when she got blank looks from both of them.

"Alright, I'll consent to guards, but only half a platoon and outside the window."

The general sighed in relief. "I can work with that. When will we leave, Your Majesty?"

"In an hour. I don't want my dad to worry."

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**I had fun writing this snippet - I can totally see Ronin motherhenning over MK, can't you?**

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	3. Explanation

**SO MANY PEOPLE FOLLOWING THIS STORY... I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...**

**Thanks everyone! Enjoy this next snippet! :D**

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"So, uuuh, yeah, that's what happened." MK shifted her weight onto her right foot. Her father just stared down at her blankly, having sat down to see her at eye-level. Then Bomba sighed, slowly. MK watched for a reaction from her father; for the whole explanation, he hadn't outwardly shown anything. MK had been prepared for her father to be angry, or perhaps even launching into a tirade of questions. She thought she actually preferred either of those two compared to the blank look he was giving her.

Then he smiled sadly, and she was startled. "You've really grown up, haven't you?" he asked, his eyes wistful. MK gave a half-smile, not sure what to think yet.

"I know I can't change anything," he said, taking off his glasses and cleaning it with his shirt, "but when you have any trouble, and I mean _any_, I want you to tell me immediately, okay?"

MK nodded. Then she touched her dad's pinky with her hand. "Wherever or whatever I am, dad, I still love you."

Her dad smiled sadly at her again. "Me too. Now go get your boyfriend; I want to have a talk with him."

"Dad!" MK huffed, but couldn't help the smile on her face. Nod had been so sweet, insisting on coming with her to see her dad - and now he was going to regret it. She was sure he wasn't prepared for this. "Hey Nod," she called over her shoulder, and her friend looked up from grooming his bird. Ronin glanced over as well. "My dad wants to talk to you."

"Sure," Nod said and he jumped across the floor from the windowsill. He seemed to have no clue as to what Bomba wanted to talk to him about, but Ronin seemed to - he was covering his mouth with his hand, seemingly covering a yawn, but MK knew better. The other, older Leafmen seemed to know too, but they were quietly snickering.

This was going to be fun.

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**I always thought Bomba could be serious when it came to MK. **

**Poor Nod. He has no clue.**

**IMPORTANT NEWS: I now have an semi-official updating schedule! Check for updates every Monday! I may be able to get chapters up then.**

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	4. The Birds and the Bees

**Hey guys! I'm back! ****_WITH MORE MAYHEM! _****:D**

**IMPORTANT : This is a ****_flashfic._**** Which means that the chapters will be relatively short. Don't like, don't read.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You made my day!**

**But that's enough from me - enjoy!**

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"So, Nod, did you have _the talk_ yet?"

Nod looked confused. "I'm sorry, what?"

Behind him, MK started silently laughing while Bomba raised an eyebrow. The professor looked at Ronin. "You didn't tell him about _the Birds and the Bees_?"

With a sudden straight face, Ronin shook his head solemnly. "I've waited because I didn't think he was mature enough. But you can do it if you like."

Nod still looked confused. "Ronin, what is it that you can't tell me, and _what was that about me not being mature enough?_"

The General smirked. "That's what I'm talking about," he said, and the snickering of the Leafmen behind him grew a little louder.

"Ahem," Bomba said, and Nod turned back to him.

"Well then, I'll tell you about the birds and the bees. When a girl and a guy love each other very much, they do this _thing_..."

By this time Nod's eyes had widened and his cheeks had turned red almost comically. "No! I think I know what you're talking about! You don't have to go into detail!"

Nod turned around when Ronin snickered along with his men at his panicked expression. MK was doubled over, stomach hurting from laughing so hard. "Nod," she breathed out, still laughing, "he's joking."

"Yes, but I am serious." Nod was feeling dizzy now, what with turning around every few minutes in a new direction, but he managed to face MK's father anyway. "If you try anything with my daughter..."

The Leafman straightened. "I won't, sir," he said formally.

"I know that. Now, here's some rules. You won't make her feel uncomfortable, you won't do anything she doesn't want to, you won't lie to me about what you're doing, and what you will do is make her happy to the best of your ability, and that ability should be _very good._"

"Dad!" MK's cheeks were red too, and Bomba just smiled.

"Yes, sir," Nod said, trying to regain some dignity. The other Leafmen were still laughing, and Ronin just looked amused - how long were they going to do that?

"As long as you remain clueless," Bomba said, and Nod blinked. Had he said that aloud?

Ronin finally smiled. "Yes, you did."

Nod just facepalmed. This was not his day.

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**Yeah; I'm not really happy with this (kicks chapter) but here you go anyway.**

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	5. Paperwork

**Notes at the bottom.**

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"You should have seen your face!" MK was covering her mouth with one hand while keeping the reins of her hummingbird in the other. "You looked horrified!

Nod glared at her. "You're not helping, MK."

More laughter. "I'm not trying to."

"Yeah, but it's _your dad_; aren't you supposed to help me, or something?"

The young queen raised an eyebrow at him. "Now where's the fun in that?" Ronin just shook his head at the pair.

"What do you mean, fun? Are you saying that you're making fun of me?"

"What if I am?"

Nod tried to look indignant, but it just came off as squished eyebrows and a pout. Mary-Katherine giggled, and Nod sighed and made a face at her.

"You know, Nod, you really need to practice your glare," Ronin said unexpectedly, and both Nod and MK glanced at him.

His charge made a strangled sound. "Aren't you supposed to be supporting _me_, Ronin, me being your surrogate son and all?"

The Leafmen General just shrugged. "I'm saying the truth as I see it," he said nonchalantly, and Nod made a face at him too.

"Your Majesty, we're approaching Moonhaven," one of the Leafmen called to them, and MK nodded back at him, her face somber.

"Alright, thank you," she said formally, and looked back at Nod with a wry smile. "Time to get serious."

Nod nodded, and put his helmet back on his head, which he had taken off in Bomba's house. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said with a smirk. "Just think of all the paperwork you have to do when you get back -"

"Oh, shush, you."

Ronin shook his head again.

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**Okay. So.**

**I'm personally not happy with this, either, but - oh well.**

**To answer a question (wolf girl811) - yes, MK can shrink her dad, but 1) she's litterally become a queen the day before, and 2) she's new to her powers, and afraid to kill her dad or something like that. Eventually someone (*coughcoughNodcoughcough*) will talk to her about it, but until then, no shrinking.**

**This is not going to be all fluff; I'm bringing plot into this, people! *evil grin***

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	6. Rot

**As I won't be able to post tomorrow, this chapter's early. However, I have decided to take a break from writing this. Sorry for those awaiting chapters, but I have summer camps and I'd like to polish the plot before writing it out. Expect another update in two weeks. **

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"You and your squad will take the dawn shift, then switch with Chestnut's. Then report back to the Northern Outpost."

"Yes sir," the Leafman saluted, then mounted with his men and flew off. Ronin turned around to give Squad 12B their instructions.

"Is all this really necessary?" Nod asked when Ronin was finished. The General sighed, taking off his helmet with one hand and running his other one through his graying hair.

"Yes, it is. Even if Mandrake's gone, the Boggans are still here, and another one will step up to take his place. That could be any day now."

"But that will take some time, won't it?" Ronin sighed, then turned to scrutinize the forest line surrounding Moonhaven.

"No, it won't - growing back the woods and rotting it are both just speeding up the effects of time. Although the Queen's powers are the increasing, growing things happen at a slower rate than decaying things, and therefore there is a good chance that the new Boggan Sovereign will master their powers faster than the Queen."

Nod at this point looked grim, and he turned to gaze into the forest along with Ronin. "Well, let's hope that that day is later rather than sooner."

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The stick of wood stood in the ground, the rot surrounding it fighting a losing battle against the growth of the forest. Just as the green was about to take over the staff, a hand reached out from the shadows beneath the trees to grab it. The object of power came free easily, humming, as if it was eager to resume its destruction of the forest.

The new master of rot grinned. Payback time.

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